About Me

Jim is the author of eight novels, three memoirs and four business books. He made a covered wagon and horseback trip across Texas to retrace the journey his ancestors had made two generations earlier and wrote Biscuits Across the Brazos to chronicle the trip. He traveled the team roping circuit as an amateur and worked roundups on big ranches. Working beside real cowboys sent him back to writing. Using lessons he had learned from more than 10,000 client interviews over thirty years and memories from his rural Texas roots, Jim published five novels in his Follow the Rivers series and three in the Tee Jessup/Riverby series. He has also published three memoirs and story collections.He has been a Writers Digest International Book Contest Finalist.

Susan Cain's Opinion Piece In 'The New York Times'

On the value of working alone
"None of
this is to say that it would be a good thing to get rid of teamwork and
get rid of group work altogether. It's more just to say that we're at a
point in our culture, and in our workplace culture, where we've gotten
too lopsided. We tend to believe that all creativity and all
productivity comes from the group, when in fact, there really is a
benefit to solitude and to being able to go off and focus and put your
head down."On whether extroverts should be offended by 'Quiet'
"My
criticism in the book is not of extroverts at all, but rather of the
extrovert ideal. I actually find extroversion to be a really appealing
personality style. ... Many of my best friends truly are extroverts,
including my beloved husband."

Quiet Quiz: Are You an Introvert or an Extrovert?
Excerpted from: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
To
ﬁnd out where you fall on the introvert-extrovert spectrum, answer each
question True or False, choosing the one that applies to you more often
than not.
1. ______ I prefer one-on-one conversations to group activities.
2. ______ I often prefer to express myself in writing.
3. ______ I enjoy solitude.
4. ______ I seem to care about wealth, fame, and status less than my peers.
5. ______ I dislike small talk, but I enjoy talking in depth about topics that matter to me.
6. ______ People tell me that I'm a good listener.
7. ______ I'm not a big risk-taker.
8. ______ I enjoy work that allows me to "dive in" with few interruptions.
9. ______ I like to celebrate birthdays on a small scale, with only one or two close friends or family members.
10. ______ People describe me as "soft-spoken" or "mellow."
11. ______ I prefer not to show or discuss my work with others until it's ﬁnished.
12. ______ I dislike conflict.
13. ______ I do my best work on my own.
14. ______I tend to think before I speak.
15.______ I feel drained after being out and about, even if I've enjoyed myself.
16. ______I often let calls go through to voice mail.
17. ______If you had to choose, I'd prefer a weekend with absolutely nothing to do to one with too many things scheduled.
18. ______ I don't enjoy multitasking.
19. ______ I can concentrate easily
20. ______ In classroom situations, I prefer lectures to seminars.
The
more often you answered True, the more introverted you are. This is an
informal quiz, not a scientifically validated personality test. The
questions were formulated based on characteristics of introversion often
accepted by contemporary researchers.